Topps Now - Is this For Real ??

So I have been checking out the new Topps New concept. For the ones that are unfamiliar with this new Topps program, Topps basically selects a few great moments from yesterday's games and makes a Topps Now card out of these which you can buy from the Topps site for a limited amount of time (I think it is 48 hours following the game). The concept I actually like as you can capture some of the cool moments in baseball quickly on a card.

In the last few weeks I was waiting for a cool Rizzo or Kershaw card and try out the program. Yesterday it happened, Kershaw made it onto a card after an awesome games including 14 Ks and the winning RBI.




Apologies for the size of the photo but I am not able yet to adjust these photos with the Blogger app I am using on the road here during my holiday !

Anyways, I decided to try it out, putting in the order at an already steep $9.99. However, when trying to check out I needed to specify the shipping I liked. Of course, the shipping only started at $6.80, yes you read it correctly, $6.80. So not only does Topps charge $9.99 for a single piece of non-auto, non-relic, cardboard, it also charges shipping, starting at $6.80 (running up to over $100 actually if you really want the card safe and quickly!).

So this piece of cardboard already adds up to $16.79. On top of that, and specific to me, I use a COMC mailbox (or else Topps would not even accept my order), which charges me another $1 for handling and later on some costs for shipping it in a batch to the Netherlands.

So all in all this card comes close to $20 and in the end will likely be having a print run of 300-500+.

Of course I don't have to buy the card, and in the end I didn't given the costs, but it is such a shame in my view as I really like the concept and they could have really added some value to the loyal baseball card collectors. In it current form, to me it feels too much as a rip-off. Clearly a missed opportunity for Topps in my view.

Let me stop my rant here :-) Any of you do feel these are proper prices and I should simply not complain about them ?

Thanks for visiting my blog today and apologies for the negativity ! Be on the look out for a post on the Rays - Blue Jays game review from last Sunday !